


lucky

by fraybanes



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Developing Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22537465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraybanes/pseuds/fraybanes
Summary: It starts, as most epic love stories do, with awkwardly bumping into each other.
Relationships: Catarina Loss/Dorothea "Dot" Rollins
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6
Collections: shadowhunters sapphic ficathon





	lucky

**Author's Note:**

> for the prompt "silk"
> 
> (disclaimer: I know nothing about dancing or waitressing)

By the time the guests from table 9 finish up and leave, with nothing but spilled drinks and a measly tip in their wake, Dot is ready to quit. She has to bite the inside of her cheek and remind herself of all the student debt she still has to pay off to prevent herself from literally ripping her apron off and storming out. Besides, that wouldn’t do much good now that her shift is over.

And thank god that it is, because just as she heads to the back to clock out, multiple groups of new customers walk in almost simultaneously. She sees the life drain from Maia’s eyes as they watch Bat seat a particularly noisy family in her section.

“Good luck, my friend,” Dot mutters.

“Take me with you,” Maia fakes a sob, then gathers herself, puts on a smile, and goes to grab some menus.

Dot punches out as quickly as humanly possible, grabs her coat, and makes her goodbyes quick. She can already hear the bathtub and frozen lasagna at her apartment calling her name.  She waves to Maia as she walks out. As she’s passing one tables near the door, where Bat has seated three new guests, she hears one of them saying, “Our treat tonight, Cat, so don’t hold back. Nothing is off-limits for my favourite nurse.”

The woman sitting across from him with her hand in his and her back to Dot laughs and waves him off so suddenly that she accidentally knocks the silk napkin off her plate and onto the floor at Dot’s feet.  Dot automatically bends down to pick it up.

It's going well until the woman  gets up and _also_ reaches for the napkin, which results in her and Dot bumping into each other and nearly falling over.

“Sorry, sorry!” Dot exclaims, regaining her balance by properly kneeling. She picks up the napkin by the studded ring around it. The woman crouches down as well, muttering her own apologies. Dot holds up the napkin and looks up, and—

The cynical part of Dot’s brain grumbles that it’s like in a movie.

The romantic part of her brain exclaims that it’s  _ just like in a movie! _

Because she is suddenly staring into the woman’s eyes and they're…well, gorgeous. The woman herself is gorgeous. No, that’s not right; that’s an understatement. She is a  _ goddess _ . And maybe Dot could survive that, because the world is full of beautiful people, and sometimes they happen to be a little extra beautiful and that’s just life, except the beautiful stranger is  _ smiling _ , and  _ that’s  _ not something Dot can survive.

Her smile is warm and genuine, and suddenly a little shy when she seems to realize that they’ve been staring at each other a little too long. It lights her face up in a way that does things to Dot’s fragile heart.

Realizing she officially _has_ been staring for too long when someone nearly trips over her kneeling form, Dot clears her throat and straightens up. The stranger follows her lead.

“Sorry again,” Dot says. She hands the woman the napkin — then immediately snatches it back. “Wait, that fell on the floor, it’s dirty! I’ll get you a new one.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” the woman says gently.

“Right,” Dot sighs, realizing it must have sounded weird to talk like a waitress when she’s out of uniform and off the clock. “I’ll tell the waiter to drop one off for you.”

“Really, it’s okay,” the woman says. Then, quickly, as if she’s afraid Dot will run away or disappear, she holds out her hand and adds, “I’m Catarina.”

Dot shakes her hand as if in a daze. They're not just going to go their separate ways? Is this  _ actually  _ a movie?

“I'm Dot,” she replies. “So, you’re a nurse, right?”

“Not yet,” Catarina laughs, brushing her braids out of her face a little nervously. “My friends are just dramatic. We’re here to celebrate me getting into nursing school.”

“Oh, wow, congratulations!”

Catarina smiles and bites her lip. “Thank you,” she says. “And sorry again, about the napkin.”

“No, no that was my fault.”

Catarina shakes her head, but seems eager to move on from the subject. Dot realizes why when the next words out of Catarina’s mouth are, “Sorry if this is too forward but…would you like to join us for drinks?”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Dot says just to be polite. In reality, she’s already forgotten all about the bathtub and the lasagna and the concept of leaving, in general. It’s one of those rare moments in life when she knows she’s met a rare person. The type of person she will regret walking away from.

“You wouldn’t be. But if you have somewhere to be, I completely understand.”

Dot smiles. “No,” she says. “I would love to join you for drinks.”

*

“You _still_ haven’t told me where we’re going.”

Cat rolls her eyes and turns to look at Dot over her shoulder. “Because it’s a  _ surprise _ ,” she says matter-of-factly. She’s leaning over the sink in Dot’s bathroom perfecting her mascara, the back of her red silk dress still unzipped. The bathroom door is open and Dot sits on her bed, Cat in her line of sight, pulling on her stockings and still deciding between bras.

“But I don’t know what to wear!” she protests.

“The dress you have laid out is perfect,” Cat assures her, putting away her mascara and checking her makeup in the mirror. “Also, can you get my zipper?”

Dot straightens out her stockings and joins her girlfriend in the bathroom. She zips up Cat’s dress, then spins her around and pulls her close.

“ _ Please _ tell me where we’re going?”

Cat smirks. “No.”

“Come on, Cat! I’m begging!”

“This is you begging? You’re not very good at it.”

“Hey!” Dot shoves her playfully, but it only ends in them holding each other closer. “It’s my birthday. You have to be nice to me.”

“No, it’s your birthday, so I have to make it special by not spoiling the surprise.”

“It’s already going to be special because you’ll be there.”

Cat gets that shy smile on her lips again as Dot pulls her in for a kiss.

Half an hour later, they’re dancing at a jazz club surrounded by friends, skirts twirling and laughter echoing, and Dot pulls Cat close once again.

“Okay,” she says. “You were right. This was a great surprise. I love you.” And though she’s said it before, this particular _ I love you _ feels different. Maybe it’s the gratitude she feels. Maybe all the spinning is making her dizzy. Or maybe it’s something else — something Cat can feel too.

Cat stops their dancing just long enough to kiss her, deeply, and rest their foreheads together. “I love you too,” she whispers. “Happy birthday, baby.”

*

Dot wakes up cozily wrapped in the silk sheets of the honeymoon suite, presses gentle kisses to Catarina's skin to wake her up, and wonders how she got so lucky.

**Author's Note:**

> oh my god I haven't had any time to write these past few weeks. which means this was written and edited in like an hour so apologies in advance for any mistakes. I thought the idea was cute (though my original idea was WAY different, but it had the same basic concepts) and had to write it first chance I got. hope y'all liked!


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